How John Smoltz Convinced The Red Sox He Was Worth A Chance  —  The viewpoints of Nick Scherer and the Red Sox weren't all that different.  —  “When I think of a great pitcher,” said Director of Operations for the Georgia Tech baseball team, “I think of John Smoltz.”

On the Beat  —  Ruminations and Meditations  —  Rickey Henderson holds two of the greatest records in baseball history, and on Monday he became a first-ballot Hall of Famer.  Henderson and Jim Rice were elected by the 10-year members of the Baseball Writers Association of America, and they'll be inducted on July 26 in Cooperstown.

Santana looks doubtful for WBC  — Johan Santana just completed a conference call with reporters a few minutes ago and it looks like he's doubtful for the World Baseball Classic as he recovers from offseason knee surgery.  Santana pitched the final month of last season with a torn meniscus …

Mets said to reach deal with Cora  —  Infielder reportedly to sign a one-year, $2 million deal  —  The Mets have come to an agreement with infielder Alex Cora on a one-year, $2 million deal, according to a blog post at the Boston-based WEEI.com.  —  Cora, who has been with the Red Sox since mid-2005 …

Gross gets $1.255-million from Tampa Bay Rays  —  The Rays avoided arbitration with OF Gabe Gross by settling on a one-year, $1.255-million deal.  —  Gross, 29, hit .242 with 13 homers and 38 RBIs in 127 games for the Rays last season after being acquired in April from Milwaukee …

At what point is rotation depth a concern?  —  At the moment, here are the starting pitchers with more than a game or two of major-league experience the Yankees have available to them:  —  CC Sabathia, A.J.Burnett, Chien-Ming Wang, Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy, Alfredo Aceves, Jason Johnson, Dan Giese, Kei Igawa.

Minor League Transactions  —  This installment considers all transactions reported by MLB between Dec. 24, 2008, and Jan. 12, 2009.  The previous installment is available here.  —  Arizona Diamondbacks  —  Signed: 2B Guillermo Reyes  —  Baltimore Orioles

Catching up with Benson  —  I had a nice chat last night with former Orioles pitcher Kris Benson, who surprised me with a phone call around 10 p.m. I didn't recognize the number and screened him.  —  Benson is throwing off a mound today after restricting himself to a long-tossing program …

Tigers avoid arbitration with Rodney  —  Fernando Rodney spent part of this winter playing with former Rockie Ray King in the Dominican Republic.  He's preparing for the possibility that he could be the Detroit Tigers' closer.  Detroit is still examining its free agent options …

Tigers ink sidearmer Ni to Minors deal  —  Taiwanese reliever to pitch in World Baseball Classic, big league camp  —  For the second straight year, the Tigers have plucked a prospect out of Taiwan.  —  The Tigers announced Tuesday that they have signed left-handed reliever Fu-Te Ni …

Who's on first?  —  So Quis and I were at dinner last night (Chipotle...it was lovely) and we got to talking about the Padres 2009 infield.  More specifically...what's it gonna look like.  Obviously we know Adrian Gonzalez will be at first and Kooz will be at 3rd...but then what?

What's right move on Giants lefties?  —  Lowry, not Sanchez, could be moved in deal if arm holds up  —  SAN FRANCISCO — It has been widely assumed that Jonathan Sanchez will be the pitcher the Giants trade in their quest for a proven hitter if they can't sign a free agent.

Former Padres manager Gomez dies  —  Preston Gomez, the original manager of the major league Padres in 1969, died Tuesday morning in Fullerton.  He was 85.  —  Gomez never fully recovered from head injuries suffered in March when he was hit by a pickup truck while crossing a service station driveway in Blythe.

Scully pulls up his own chair  —  Dodgers announcer watches a replay of his broadcast of Larsen's World Series perfect game and offers a review.  —  Vin Scully recently watched the MLB Network replay of the perfect game pitched by Don Larsen for the New York Yankees against the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1956 World Series.